Existentialism And Human Emotions Review

Existentialism And Human Emotions By Jean Paul Sartre 

                                    …What if everyone acted that way?

I chose to read this book and hence I’ve come into existence as a man who has read this book as opposed to the man I was when I hadn’t. This man is the exemplary man that directs the world to the idea of the ideal man. Hence, if you want to be the ideal person; read this book. And then you will have to write a review like this one to be the new man that I would have became at the end of this review.

This is the maxim of existentialism. Through this book, Jean Paul Sartre defends his philosophy against some charges that it has faced due to the notoriety of earlier works. Hence, existentialism is brought to a new light of freedom rather than the alleged despair. Any reader who is slightly familiar with Freud’s, Descartes' and Kant’s works will readily understand this . The language is one of the easiest that I’ve read in philosophical works. Some concepts however are abstract and difficult to understand.The author ought to have explained these in detail for the reader’s who are unaware of the philosophical jargon. In any case, the author was successful in giving the basic idea of existentialism through logic. He also gives the scope of this line of philosophy in psychoanalysis. The reader should constantly look up the phrases that look obscure because the theory will not be fully understood without that.

This book is recommended for readers who are interested in reading philosophical texts. An ideal man would write a review on it as well.

Persuasion Review

Persuasion By Jane Austen  
                  … Prettier musings of high-wrought love and eternal constancy

It is such a studious undertaking to stop every moment and write its details in minutiae. And Miss Jane Austen has successfully and assiduously handled each moment, each character, and each subplot. Jane Austen ‘s disposition towards the theme of ‘love suppressed by social propriety’ is once again brought to life in this novel. The protagonist Miss Anne Elliot is deprived of her only true love because he was not an aristocrat as her. She is emotionally bruised and condemned to live with it for much long.

This novel puts persuasion and will against each other and in the end teaches us to not judge people too soon. Looks are Deceptive and feelings are the ultimate guide to life. It then asks the questions if the protagonist was right to desert her lover due to persuasion of others. The language is easy to read and reflective of the society that existed during the life of the author. The importance of good looks, social rank and capital is apparent from the text. However, the text and meaning of the text are sometimes substantially asunder. In some parts, Juxtaposition of subplots in the main plot might confuse the reader. However, The reader is sure to appreciate the sincerity with which every word is put. The author never undermines morality. Rather, she puts it in a fitting manner with the feelings of protagonist.

This book is recommended to any romantic especially to one inclined to love stories.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Review

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
                … your whole body is nothing more than your thought.

Figurative in all its aspects, this book guises the most vivid feelings pertaining to human-conformity and self-imposed limits. In a few words the author has managed to create the view of a society laden with drabness and stunting orthodoxy. The being who aspires to embrace life by innovation is not only criticized but banished as an outcast. But the power of ideas is so divine, it surpasses time and space. If braced by a person of will..the ideas and toughts can bring radical changes to life. The story also touches lightly upon the philosophy of mind and its distinction from the body although the rationale behind it is not narrated in the plot.

The author appears to be disposed towards a writing style which can be ascribed to a fable more than any other form. The actions of Seagulls are brought immediately to the mind with the lively use of words. There is a slight discrepancy in the way the story transitions from one state to another towards the middle. It is greatly resolved, however, by the following pages. The story also appears to be rushed during some parts. It might have been better if the author had spared some more details on the main idea instead of detouring to parts which were not important to the story. But the story is good enough to dodge this nit-picking and turns out to be good read for everyone. It is highly recommended as a bed time story!

The Interpretation of Dreams Review

The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud 

                                               …They tell not of the future, but self-restrained wishes

Eloquence in verbosity : This paradox best describes Freud’s way of writing. At the first glance it might appear to the reader that much of the book is filled with useless examples and futile paraphrasing. But rest assured that the meaning a reader ascribes to the last few pages entirely depends on it, and hence what might seem to be a mindless toil at first would be an earned enlightenment in retrospective.

The book is partially discernible at best because it was a novel piece of work at the time of its conception and hence even the author has referred to some part of his work as a dark portion. It is extreme in what it does. The writing style is almost pompous and disparaging at some points when the author’s contempt for the work of his contemporaries becomes more evident than the exposition of his discourse itself. The difficulty in comprehension that a reader might face is not to be associated with author’s use of words. The original language of this work was German ;hence because of the difference in structures of the two languages the translation might not have been as effective as the original text.

The theory of unconscious and the analogies conjured by Freud to explain the Psychic apparatus is brilliant.However, the whole book is induction based and not deduction based like most of the scientific journals. This can put reader in an uncomfortable position. For most of the readers, conclusion will partially address this discomfort .

This book is only recommended for those who have special interest in the philosophy of mind.

The Old Man and the Sea Review

The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
                                       ..If he cramps again let the line cut him off. 

The subtitle is an excerpt of the book in question. Here the protagonist of this book, an old fisherman ,is talking about his left hand which has been personified as a traitor. That’s what this book is about. Subtleties in what appears to be a fable. The interminable courage and perseverance of a man and his prey which he refers to as his brother throughout the text. 

Writing style bears a striking semblance with a folklore .The text is always smoothly transitioning between scenes and never lays burden of words on the reader. Though the story is not as eventful but it is nevertheless breathtaking .The writer most vividly conjures the plight of the old man in the mind of the reader and draws contrast between animals and human beings to finally assert that they are not all that different. They both can be brave and determined..or cunning and greedy. He raises the question on the morality of killing animals by constantly referring them as 'brothers'. In the end he asks if the sacrifices were worth the toil.The recurring phrase that the old man uses: “ I never should have gone this far” plants a subtle thought in the mind of the reader which lingers even after the story ends.

The story does not stand out in any respect. It doesn't aim to. Read it for the questions that it raises and not the content. I shall even recommend it for standard literature course book in schools.